News / Local
Proxies to lift the veil of secrecy around the Obert Mpofu wealth
06 Aug 2011 at 07:05hrs | Views
Daggers have been drawn out against Obert Mpofu whose rising political profile in Matabeleland has raffled the feathers of ZANU-PF bigwigs who were used to dominating the political space in the Ndebele-speaking provinces prior to the emergence of the Mines Minister as a new force in the three regions. ZANU-PF insiders said Mpofu was now being viewed as a threat by those whose political stars have been eclipsed by the politician who fired warning shots about his ambitions to rise to the top when he offered himself for the party's vice presidency following the death of Joseph Msika in August 2009, FinGaz reported on Friday.
His dream to ascend to the presidium was to hit a concrete wall after his rivals were forced to put aside their differences to coalesce around the figure of John Nkomo on the strength of an unwritten rule that has shadowed the Unity Accord ever since it was signed between President Robert Mugabe and the late vice president Joshua Nkomo to end the disturbances that rocked the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces in the early 1980s.
The unwritten doctrine favours the most senior former ZAPU member to occupy any vacant position that would have emerged in the high echelons of ZANU-PF in fulfilment of the Unity Accord whose relevance has been brought to question by the revival of ZAPU, now led by former ZIPRA intelligence supremo, Dumiso Dabengwa.
But with the inconsistencies in the application of the unwritten rule as evidenced by the parachuting of Ambassador Simon Khaya-Moyo from Pretoria, South Africa, where he was Zimbabwe's top diplomat, to the position of ZANU-PF national chairperson ahead of a number of seasoned former ZAPU politicians, it is now survival of the fittest in the restive Matabeleland provinces.
Those baying for Mpofu's blood, according to sources, appear to be uncomfortable with speculation around his riches as well as the Umguza Member of Parliament's closeness to President Mugabe, the highlight of which was when he referred himself as the incumbent's "ever obedient son" when he signed off one of his letters to the President. As a result, there are spirited attempts by Mpofu's rivals and their proxies to lift the veil of secrecy around the Mines Minister's wealth and unravel the mystery behind the sale of the controversial Marange diamonds in the hope of fishing out something dirty that would stick and derail the gravitas around Mpofu's attainment of the Godfather status in Matabeleland.
"The idea is to destroy him once and for all. It is feared that Mpofu might bring in a new team all together from Matabeleland if he is allowed to command influence in the three provinces," said an impeccable ZANU-PF source.
While Mpofu could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print, there have been calls to investigate him over his riches and the manner he has handled the sale of diamonds from Chiadzwa.
To give currency to the calls are reports that there are inconsistencies between the figures relating to diamond sales made available by Mpofu's officials and those captured by Treasury.
Other insiders said Mpofu's political woes stemmed from the fact that some original members of PF-ZAPU never forgave him for joining ZANU-PF much earlier than the late Father Zimbabwe.
Mpofu, who has held various ministerial portfolios including that of industry and commerce, joined ZANU-PF in the early 1980s before Nkomo, the leader of the old ZAPU, forged a unity pact with President Mugabe's old ZANU-PF in December 1987.
He crossed the floor along with the likes of Ambassador Javen Maseko and Jane Ngwe-nya.
Phathisa Nyathi, a historian, said Mpofu had shown foresightedness by joining ZANU-PF earlier than other leaders of ZAPU who then followed the late Nkomo after the signing of the Unity Accord.
"Maybe that is the reason why (President) Mugabe trusts Mpofu and this has not gone down well with Matabeleland political leaders. Mpofu is enjoying the cake of joining ZANU-PF earlier and when there is a cake to be shared in ZANU-PF, Mpofu cannot be left out and you cannot compare him with those who joined ZANU-PF after (the Unity Accord) negotiations," said Nyathi.
He added that this could be the reason why some people have left ZANU-PF to revive ZAPU as they felt they were not deriving any benefits from the unity pact.
It would however, not be easy to dim Mpofu's rising political star given the groundswell of support he now enjoys among the grassroots and his successes in driving the diamond lobby that resulted in Zimbabwe being allowed to sell its diamonds by the Kimberley Process.
As a result of his involvement in the diamond lobby, insiders said Mpofu had won the hearts and minds of a number of ZANU-PF-aligned civic society groups that have become his unsought for public relations tools.
Mpofu is also one of the few politicians to win seats for ZANU-PF since the advent of the Movement for Democratic Change in 1999 unlike the rest of the party's leadership from the province such as Nkomo and Khaya-Moyo who owe their presence in government and the party to President Mugabe's benevolence.
Mpofu is one of only five elected ZANU-PF members of the House of Assembly in the Matabeleland provinces out of 33 contested seats in the three provinces: The rest ride on President Mugabe's cocktails.
He has also emerged as the second most powerful bureaucrat in the economic cluster of ministries after Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, by virtue of superintending the lucrative diamond industry.
Mpofu has previously been quoted saying the diamond industry is set to fuel the country's economy.
Rightly or wrongly, he has also built around him an empire capable of bankrolling his political ambitions. His commercial interests are said to span over real estate, mining, the retail and agricultural sectors.
Mpofu's political career has however, not been without some blemishes.
He previously courted the ire of the business sector after he masterminded damaging price freezes on basic commodities in Zimb-abwe in mid 2007, triggering the cathartic collapse of industry and commerce as well as the arrest of business people who were caught flouting the controls.
His dream to ascend to the presidium was to hit a concrete wall after his rivals were forced to put aside their differences to coalesce around the figure of John Nkomo on the strength of an unwritten rule that has shadowed the Unity Accord ever since it was signed between President Robert Mugabe and the late vice president Joshua Nkomo to end the disturbances that rocked the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces in the early 1980s.
The unwritten doctrine favours the most senior former ZAPU member to occupy any vacant position that would have emerged in the high echelons of ZANU-PF in fulfilment of the Unity Accord whose relevance has been brought to question by the revival of ZAPU, now led by former ZIPRA intelligence supremo, Dumiso Dabengwa.
But with the inconsistencies in the application of the unwritten rule as evidenced by the parachuting of Ambassador Simon Khaya-Moyo from Pretoria, South Africa, where he was Zimbabwe's top diplomat, to the position of ZANU-PF national chairperson ahead of a number of seasoned former ZAPU politicians, it is now survival of the fittest in the restive Matabeleland provinces.
Those baying for Mpofu's blood, according to sources, appear to be uncomfortable with speculation around his riches as well as the Umguza Member of Parliament's closeness to President Mugabe, the highlight of which was when he referred himself as the incumbent's "ever obedient son" when he signed off one of his letters to the President. As a result, there are spirited attempts by Mpofu's rivals and their proxies to lift the veil of secrecy around the Mines Minister's wealth and unravel the mystery behind the sale of the controversial Marange diamonds in the hope of fishing out something dirty that would stick and derail the gravitas around Mpofu's attainment of the Godfather status in Matabeleland.
"The idea is to destroy him once and for all. It is feared that Mpofu might bring in a new team all together from Matabeleland if he is allowed to command influence in the three provinces," said an impeccable ZANU-PF source.
While Mpofu could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print, there have been calls to investigate him over his riches and the manner he has handled the sale of diamonds from Chiadzwa.
To give currency to the calls are reports that there are inconsistencies between the figures relating to diamond sales made available by Mpofu's officials and those captured by Treasury.
Other insiders said Mpofu's political woes stemmed from the fact that some original members of PF-ZAPU never forgave him for joining ZANU-PF much earlier than the late Father Zimbabwe.
Mpofu, who has held various ministerial portfolios including that of industry and commerce, joined ZANU-PF in the early 1980s before Nkomo, the leader of the old ZAPU, forged a unity pact with President Mugabe's old ZANU-PF in December 1987.
Phathisa Nyathi, a historian, said Mpofu had shown foresightedness by joining ZANU-PF earlier than other leaders of ZAPU who then followed the late Nkomo after the signing of the Unity Accord.
"Maybe that is the reason why (President) Mugabe trusts Mpofu and this has not gone down well with Matabeleland political leaders. Mpofu is enjoying the cake of joining ZANU-PF earlier and when there is a cake to be shared in ZANU-PF, Mpofu cannot be left out and you cannot compare him with those who joined ZANU-PF after (the Unity Accord) negotiations," said Nyathi.
He added that this could be the reason why some people have left ZANU-PF to revive ZAPU as they felt they were not deriving any benefits from the unity pact.
It would however, not be easy to dim Mpofu's rising political star given the groundswell of support he now enjoys among the grassroots and his successes in driving the diamond lobby that resulted in Zimbabwe being allowed to sell its diamonds by the Kimberley Process.
As a result of his involvement in the diamond lobby, insiders said Mpofu had won the hearts and minds of a number of ZANU-PF-aligned civic society groups that have become his unsought for public relations tools.
Mpofu is also one of the few politicians to win seats for ZANU-PF since the advent of the Movement for Democratic Change in 1999 unlike the rest of the party's leadership from the province such as Nkomo and Khaya-Moyo who owe their presence in government and the party to President Mugabe's benevolence.
Mpofu is one of only five elected ZANU-PF members of the House of Assembly in the Matabeleland provinces out of 33 contested seats in the three provinces: The rest ride on President Mugabe's cocktails.
He has also emerged as the second most powerful bureaucrat in the economic cluster of ministries after Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, by virtue of superintending the lucrative diamond industry.
Mpofu has previously been quoted saying the diamond industry is set to fuel the country's economy.
Rightly or wrongly, he has also built around him an empire capable of bankrolling his political ambitions. His commercial interests are said to span over real estate, mining, the retail and agricultural sectors.
Mpofu's political career has however, not been without some blemishes.
He previously courted the ire of the business sector after he masterminded damaging price freezes on basic commodities in Zimb-abwe in mid 2007, triggering the cathartic collapse of industry and commerce as well as the arrest of business people who were caught flouting the controls.
Source - FinGaz
